Following last summer’s flooding in and around Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, the water levels from the River Severn were getting to dangerous heights on the 15th January.
Homeowner must ensure they have adequate insurance. Last summer there were more than 1,600 properties that were damaged by flooding in the area. Although other parts of England are currently being affected from Dover to Dorset, the problem for the Tewksbury area is worse because there are two major rivers the Severn and Avon.
jml Insurance works with the Delite Insurance Agency of Gillingham in Kent and their underwriters will consider properties that have been flooded and offer cover where the existing insurer will not do this!
Neil Cook of Delite advises that if you have a property in an area that is likely to experience flooding ”make sure that you keep valuables upstairs if high water are predicted and also move anything else that is fairly portable”.
The advice for property owners in areas at risk to flooding to make sure they have adequate insurance also applies to all property owners. January and February can often see bad weather in the UK, apart from heavy rain there is often snow and ice and gale force winds.
“Although people might have overspent at Christmas and the credit card bills are rolling in, one area that should not be forgotten is to pay the insurance premiums” says Neil.
Many insurance companies now let customers spread their payments over a year by credit card or direct debit and if the premium payments are not up to date, the cover will lapse.
jml Insurance is also involved with holiday home insurance both in the UK and in mainland Europe. They are advising clients that if the client has not been to the property over the winter to either employ a local agent or friend or neighbour to check it over from time to time in the winter months. A slipped tile can let in water that can do a lot of a structural damage.
